Obstructive Sleep Apnea is Dangerous

Obstructive sleep apnea can lead to heart disease, stroke and a host of other issues. Nighttime snoring could be indicative of a serious medical concern and should be evaluated by a doctor.

We’ve all experienced a little bit of trouble sleeping from time to time. For some people it is trouble getting to bed, for others it is an issue of staying out once they have drifted off. Besides these relatively innocuous problems there is another much more serious condition that not only makes it hard to get rest it also can be dangerous and even deadly.

It is called obstructive sleep apnea and it often gets ignored or misdiagnosed as regular snoring. Snoring is extremely common and is very different from obstructive sleep apnea although it can sometimes be an early symptom of a later problem. Snoring is simply a vibration of the structures of the airways while asleep.

On the other hand obstructive sleep apnea is increasingly loud breathing and snorting followed by disruptions in air intake often with bouts of wakefulness during which a person is gasping for air. Often a person who lives alone will not even be fully aware of their problem because they will awaken throughout the night just long enough to regain their breath.

This results in the ancillary symptoms of excessive drowsiness and a lack of focus throughout the day. Often the person most affected by this condition is not the person afflicted. The spouse or significant other often suffers the most disruption of their rest because of the noisiness of their mate’s breathing.

Obstructive sleep apnea is much more than a minor annoyance however. Its effects on the restfulness of its sufferers are only the beginning of the negative health consequences. Besides sleepiness, loud snoring and restlessness people often are irritable and struggle with bouts of depression. This condition has been known to raise heart rate and blood pressure and cause night sweats because of the constant struggle for air. This deprivation of both sleep and oxygen in the long run increases health risks like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression and obesity. In fact some studies suggest that the risk of heart attack or death is 30% higher in sufferers.

Fortunately there are a number of treatment options both surgical and non-surgical that can ameliorate this condition. In fact the most successful treatment is not surgery at all. It is called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, and it is a computer-controlled device that applies a constant stream of air into the airways. It requires a small compressor like machine and a mask that covers the mouth and nose and it has been found to be highly effective.

If you are affected by daytime drowsiness and nighttime restlessness and snoring, see a doctor because it may be obstructive sleep apnea.